The writings of a first-rate scientist and daring adventurer, and a major inspiration for Elizabeth Gilbert’s bestselling novel The Signature of All Things John Cook led three famous expeditions to the Pacific Ocean between 1768 and 1779. In voyages that ranged from the Antarctic circle to the Arctic Sea, Cook charted Australia and the whole coast of New Zealand, and brought back detailed descriptions of the natural history of the Pacific. Accounts based on Cook's journals were issued at the time, but it was not until this century that the original journals were published in Beaglehole's definitive edition. His journals tell the story of these voyages as Cook wanted it to be told, radiating the ambition, courage and skill which enabled him to carry out an unrivalled series of expeditions in dangerous waters. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
About the Author
British navigatorJames Cook, known asCaptain Cook, commanded three major exploratory voyages to chart and to name many islands of the Pacific Ocean and also sailed along the coast of North America as far as the Bering Strait.During circumnavigation of the globe from 1768 to 1771 with James Cook,Joseph Bankscollected and cataloged numerous specimens of plants and animals.James Cook, captain, visited Austral Islands in 1769 and 1777.James Cook, fellow of the royal society, served as a cartographer in the Navy. Cook made detailed maps of Newfoundland prior to making, and achieving the first recorded European contact with the eastern line of Australia and Hawaii and the record around New Zealand.Cook joined the merchant as a teenager and joined the royal Navy in 1755. He saw action in the Seven Years' War and subsequently surveyed and mapped much of the entrance to the Saint Lawrence River during the siege of Quebec. This mapping helped to bring Cook to the attention of the admiralty and royal society. This notice came at a crucial moment in career of Cook and in the overseas direction and led to his first commission in 1766 of His Majesty's barkEndeavour.Cook went thousands of miles across large areas of the globe. From New Zealand, he mapped to Hawaii in greater detail and on a not previously achieved scale. He progressed on his discovery, surveyed features, and recorded lines on European maps for the first time. He displayed a combination of seamanship, superior surveying and cartographic skills, physical courage, and an ability to lead men in adverse conditions.A fight with Hawaiians killed Cook. He left a scientific and geographical legacy to influence his successors well into the 20th century, and people dedicated numerous memorials worldwide.
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